On 29 January 2009, HaMoked: Center for Defence of the Individual filed a petition under the Freedom of Information Act, in which it demanded information identifying the bodies to whom the Interior Minister officially delegated his power to grant entry permits from Gaza to Israel. HaMoked filed this petition as the Interior Ministry did not provide a substantive response to previous requests in this regard.
In the petition, HaMoked stressed the vital importance of the information it was seeking: considering that the Rafah crossing is almost entirely closed, these bodies, whose identities HaMoked is seeking to discover, have absolute control over the right to exit of one and a half million Gazans.
HaMokes emphasizes that the Interior Ministry's conduct in relation to the requests for information constitutes a gross violation of the Freedom of Information Act. According to this Act, the Ministry was obligated to respond to HaMoked's request within 30 days. The Interior Ministry also failed, alternatively, to show any cause which would justify withholding the information. HaMoked demands that the Court compel the Interior Ministry to provide the requisite information and charge the Ministry with the petition's costs.